Wise Traditions

Looking to improve your health? Live life to the fullest? The key to good health is found in nutrient-dense, nourishing food, not in processed, food-like products. Host and health coach Hilda Labrada Gore conducts down-to-earth interviews with leading health and wellness experts (scientists, doctors, farmers, physical therapists, and more) to uncover practical tips from the past for optimal health today. This podcast is brought to you by the Weston A. Price Foundation, committed to wise traditions in food, farming, and the healing arts.

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Many of us are stuck on a blood sugar rollercoaster and we don't even know it. We find ourselves reaching for a muffin at 10 a.m. and can’t make it through the day without a mid-afternoon cup of coffee or energy drink. It’s so common, we’ve come to regard it as normal.

Today, an expert in nutritional science and kinesiology, Lindsea Willon, joins us to explain how we can make different choices to avoid blood sugar spikes and dips. She offers practical tips like reminding us not to take sugar into our bodies "unopposed"--meaning vegetables and fruits should be eaten with some kind of fat to slow down their absorption into our blood stream.

By eating differently, we can avoid short-term issues, like headaches, sleeplessness, PMS, and getting "hangry." Proper nutrition can also help us avoid more serious health concerns like diabetes, PCOS, joint pain, and injuries.

Lindsea understands, both intellectually and from life experience, the importance of a healthy diet. An athlete in college, her poor diet led to injury and fatigue. Now, she fuels herself with nutrient-dense foods and encourages others to do the same. Her goal is for everyone to experience the energy and vitality that is their birthright. This episode will certainly give you the tools needed to get on the right track and to get off the blood sugar rollercoaster for good!

In an age of information overload, it it is easy to become overwhelmed and even paralyzed by the choices we have to make on a daily basis. Today, Hilary Boynton reminds us to slow down, take a deep breath, and cherish the moment.

Hilary is an author, real food advocate, and a busy mother of five. Her husband has been battling cancer for some time. Her life is full and challenging. And, yet, in the middle of the chaos, she makes healthy eating a priority.

She reminds us that it doesn’t take much to make delicious and nutritious meals. And that eating mindfully and in good company is just as important as eating clean and organic. Pursuing good health is a lifestyle, and it is as much about relationships (with our farmers, our friends and family, and ourselves) as it is about nutrient-density and diet.

Regarding our food choices, Hilary talks about perspective and how to navigate the fine line between being discerning and being neurotic. At the end of the day, it’s all about trusting that your body knows what it needs. She calls us to live consciously and courageously.

This interview was recorded LIVE in Topanga Canyon, California, and the audience was quickly enthralled and inspired by Hilary's heart and words of wisdom. We trust that you will be, too.

Rather than providing a “one size fits all” approach to wellness, Oriental Medicine recognizes that each of us has a unique constitution.This Eastern practice dates back at least 3000 years, but its teachings are just as relevant and powerful today as ever.

Acupuncturist Cheryl Harris discusses the benefits of acupressure (and acupuncture) on some of her youngest patients. She discusses its efficacy as "preventative maintenance medicine," grounding the children emotionally and shoring them up physically. You will even get to hear from some of the children she works with on the show!

Cheryl knows what she's talking about! She has a Masters of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and she is also certified in Five-Element Acupuncture. She speaks to how the five elements--wood, fire, earth, metal, and water--appear in nature and in our own temperaments.

You will find this to be a fascinating conversation that calls us all back to live in tune with nature and our own nature. Cheryl reminds us how beautiful and simple the journey to good health can be.

Many conservation groups hold a piece of the puzzle when it comes to saving our planet. They focus on saving a particular species or on planting trees. Sarah Savory suggests that we must step back and look at the big picture for a more cohesive approach to regenerate the land. And the land is indeed key, because if it becomes infertile, there will be nothing for the animals to eat, and they will indeed become extinct, despite our best efforts.

Sarah Savory is a children's book author and conservation advocate (and, yes, the daughter of famed wildlife biologist Allan Savory) who knows how to explain in simple terms what is happening to our planet. She is a proponent of holistic management, an approach to greening the earth by properly managing livestock...and our own choices. Sarah invites us to examine how we are living and either contributing to, or alleviating, the issues that lead to desertification.

Sarah discusses the challenges she sees in Zimbabwe, her native country, and those that are common all over the world. She describes what led her to write children's books on the topic of conservation. You will be moved by her clarity, conviction, and call to action.

Do you eat all the right foods but still struggle with health concerns? Do you feel like your health recovery is characterized by forward progress, followed by inevitable setbacks? Microbiologist Kiran Krishnan explains in detail what he believes is the “ground zero” of most health disorders: a weakened mucosa layer between the skin and the cellular lining. When the mucosa layer is defective, it becomes permeable, allowing toxins into our system that wreak havoc with our health. And some of these toxins are found even in the very food we eat!

When our bodies are invaded in this way, it naturally elicits an inflammatory response. And inflammation, as we know, is associated with autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses. From his studies, Kiran is convinced that many conditions that present quite differently—such as heart disease, arthritis, Hashimoto’s and Alzheimer’s, for example—stem from the root issue of a weak mucosa layer.

In today’s episode, Kiran reveals not only the problem but the solution: how to strengthen our body’s defense systems by increasing microbial activity in the mucosa layer. This episode is a great resource for anyone who has an inflammatory condition or knows someone who is struggling with one!